Interracial Marriages Face Pushback 50 Years After Loving

Married in 2008, Angela Ross (center) and her husband D.J. live in Copper Hill, Va., with two of their five children, Jordis, 11 (left), and Marianna, 7. More than 50 years ago, their interracial marriage would have been illegal in Virginia.

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a Virginia law banning interracial marriage was unconstitutional, allowing Richard and Mildred Loving to live openly as husband and wife in the state.

Marianna Ross (left) and her sister Jordis are homeschooled by their mother outside of Roanoke, Va.

Hansi Lo Wang
/ NPR

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Originally published on June 12, 2017 7:35 am

D.J. and Angela Ross were not supposed to end up together, according to their families.

"Actually my grandma on both sides used to tell me, 'Boy, you better leave those white girls alone or else we're going to come find you hanging from a tree,' " says D.J., 35, who is black and grew up in southern Virginia.

Angela, 40, who is white and was also raised in Virginia, remembers being warned: "You can have friends with black people, and that's fine. But don't ever marry a black man."

But on Valentine's Day 2008, Angela tied the knot with D.J. in their home state. More than 50 years ago, their marriage would have broken a Virginia law. Designed to "preserve racial integrity," it allowed a white person to only marry people who had "no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian" or who fell under what was known as the "Pocahontas Exception" for having "one-sixteenth or less of the blood of the American Indian" and "no other non-Caucasic blood."

Virginia wasn't always for all lovers

In 1958, Richard and Mildred Loving were thrown in jail and later banished from Virginia for breaking that law. He was white, and she once described herself as "part negro and part indian."

After receiving a marriage license in Washington, D.C., the Lovings returned home to Central Point, Va., where weeks later, police burst into their bedroom late one night to arrest them. That ultimately led to a legal battle against Virginia's anti-miscegenation law that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court almost a decade later.

"This period was a very dangerous period. You didn't want publicity for them, still living in the South," says Philip Hirschkop, one of the lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the Lovings' case before the Supreme Court. "President Kennedy was assassinated. Medgar Evers was assassinated. The girls were killed in the church in Alabama. These were very tough, difficult times."

Still, on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Lovings, striking down laws banning mixed-race marriages in sixteen states, including Virginia. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the opinion that "the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State."

For the Lovings, the ruling meant they could finally live openly as husband and wife in Virginia with their three children. "Society righted the wrong to some extent," Hirschkop says. "But no one ever paid them for the horrible years they had to spend in terrible fear."

Fifty years after the landmark Supreme Court decision, though, the story of the Lovings resonates with interracial couples in Virginia like D.J. and Angela Ross.

"It's true that we can be together in the open. But some things, I don't think we've made much progress," D.J. says. "Discrimination still happens."

Angela says whenever she and her husband are in public with their five children, she often sees other people shaking their heads.

"Someone may look at me who disagrees with my choice in marrying my husband. I can't take that on," she says. "I can't take on their opinion of me because I know my value and self-worth."

Interracial marriage since Loving v. Virginia

Opinions about interracial marriages have shifted dramatically since the Loving ruling. While adults ages 65 and older and those with a high school diploma or less education are more likely to oppose having a close relative marrying someone of a different race, Americans overall are more open to the idea, according to a recent Pew Research Center report.

The share of newlyweds in interracial marriages has grown sharply. Overall, one out of every six newlyweds today is married to someone of a different race. While Asian and Latino newlyweds are the most likely to marry outside of their racial groups, there have been rapid increases in the share of black and white newlyweds with spouses of different races since 1980.

As they head towards their 10th wedding anniversary next year, Angela and D.J. Ross say they're focused on providing a safe home for their family among the rolling, green hills outside of Roanoke, Va. Angela homeschools their two youngest daughters, Marianna and Jordis, in their garden and living room, where the windows overlook cows and horses grazing on farmland.

D.J. says he's at peace out here with his family.

"As soon as I get here, it's like everything is just gone. You don't have to worry about people looking at me differently, because I'm home," he adds. "It's just us here."

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Fifty years ago today, Richard and Mildred Loving won the right to live as husband and wife in Virginia in a landmark Supreme Court case. Richard was white. Mildred described herself as, quote, "part negro and part Indian". At the time, 16 states banned mixed-race marriages. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang recently met with an interracial couple in Virginia who say that story resonates with them today.

HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE: Like many couples, D.J. and Angela Ross fell in love on the dance floor.

ANGELA ROSS: So we were dancing to...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE")

BILL MEDLEY: (Singing) Now, I've...

A. ROSS: What is it? "The Time Of My Life."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE")

MEDLEY: (Singing) ...Had the time of my life.

A. ROSS: I swear to you, it was as if there was no one in the room.

D.J. ROSS: I don't remember anything else but just me and her. It's like everybody else just disappeared.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE")

JENNIFER WARNES: (Singing) I owe it all to you.

WANG: But the two were not supposed to end up together, according to their families. D.J. is black, and Angela is white.

D.J. ROSS: My grandma on both sides used to tell me on both sides used to tell me, boy, you better leave those white girls alone or else we're going to come find you hanging from a tree or - just different stuff like that.

A. ROSS: I mean, I grew up - you can have friends with black people, and that's fine. But don't ever marry a black man.

WANG: But on Valentine's Day 2008, Angela tied the knot with D.J. in Virginia. That would have been illegal more than 50 years ago, when state law designed to, quote, "preserve racial integrity" prevented a white person from marrying someone who was not white. Richard and Mildred Loving were thrown in jail and later banished from Virginia for breaking that law in 1958.

PHILIP HIRSCHSKOP: This period was a very dangerous period. You didn't want publicity for them still living in the South.

WANG: Philip Hirschskop was one of the lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the Lovings' case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

HIRSCHSKOP: President Kennedy was assassinated. Medgar Evers was assassinated. The girls were killed at the church in Alabama. These were very tough, difficult times.

WANG: Still on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Lovings. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the opinion that, quote, "the freedom to marry or not marry a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the state."

D.J. ROSS: It's true that we can be together in the open. But with some things, I don't think we've made much progress. I mean, just - discrimination still happens.

A. ROSS: When we all have gone out as a family, the looks that we get - people shaking their head - number one, because we're a big family, but two, that we're married with five biracial children.

WANG: Angela says she's learned to have more self control over the years.

A. ROSS: Someone may look at me that disagrees with my choice in marrying my husband. I can't take that on. I can't take on their opinion of me because I know my value, and I know my self worth.

WANG: Opinions about interracial marriages have shifted dramatically over the past 50 years. With declining opposition to interracial marriages today, the share of newlyweds in interracial marriages has grown sharply, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Now, 1 out of every 6 six newlyweds is married to someone of a different race.

Next year, Angela and D.J. Ross are set to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. They're focused on providing a safe home for their family among the rolling green hills outside of Roanoke, Va.

A. ROSS: And what's over here, Marianna? What's planted here?

MARIANNA: Broccoli.

A. ROSS: More broccoli, cauliflower...

MARIANNA: I think this is jalapenos.

WANG: Angela homeschools their two youngest daughters, Marianna and Jordis, in their garden and living room. From there, you can see cows and horses grazing on farmland. D.J. says he's at peace out here with his family.

D.J. ROSS: As soon as I get here, it's like everything's just gone. You know, I don't have to worry about people looking at me differently because I'm home.